Javelin thrower Shivpal Singh produced a throw almost 4 metres better than his previous best of 82.56m to land the silver medal at the Asian Championships.

Shivpal Singh spoke to Nitin Sharma after winning the silver medal at the Asian Championship in Doha.

How satisfying is this silver?

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Last year, when I had a throw of 82.28m in Guwahati, I was confident of doing the same at the Asian Games. Unfortunately, I suffered an elbow injury. Today’s silver medal has ended the disappointment and this medal is special to me. Today when I won the medal, coach Uwe Hohn hugged me and said, “Well done”.

For me, that is bigger than the medal. The weather was good here with wind blowing in the warm-up area and it helped my performance today. I was unlucky to miss out on the gold medal with a difference of less than .50m but I will take plenty of positives from this performance. The world championships will also take place at the same venue and this medal ahead of that event will boost my confidence a lot.

How was your preparation?

We had a training stint under coach Hohn in South Africa earlier this year. While I did not throw due to injury, my focus was on training and stamina. We will also be going to Europe later this year before the World Championships.

Neeraj (Chopra) too has always supported me a lot and it helps to train with an athlete like him. Most of my family members pursue javelin throw and their dream is to see me winning a medal at the international level.